The invention describes a Schottky diode arrangement in which a number of small-area metal semiconductor contacts are combined to form a mechanically stable component.
Besides some disadvantages, Schottky diodes, as is known, also have several advantages as compared to p/n diodes. They may be manufactured relatively easily, have small switching times and may be manufactured with relatively small gate voltages. In the last few years Schottky diodes have been manufactured as mixer diodes for higher and higher operating frequencies. With diode diameters of 5.multidot.10.sup.-5 cm, frequencies of up to more than 4 THz have been achieved. D. T. Hodges and M. McColl, "Extension of the Schottky barrier detector 70 um (4.3 THz) using submicron-dimensional contacts", Appl. Phys. Letters., 30, 5-7 (1977). These Schottky diodes are seriously competing with metal oxide metal (MOM) point contact diodes because they are constructed by the planar technique and consequently have greater mechanical stability. Their manufacture is therefore more costly.